Digital art of big laptop, grad cap, stack of books, pile of coins, little peopl

How to Increase Your Scholarship Chances With Great Standardized Test Scores

Just because more schools are test-optional doesn't mean good SAT and ACT scores are useless. Here's how to win free money for college with your scores!

Although more than 80% of colleges don’t require standardized test scores for admission—a common practice that started during the COVID-19 pandemic—taking the SAT or ACT can still be extremely beneficial to not only increase your chances of admission but also win money for college. That’s because when your SAT and ACT scores are high, you become eligible for more scholarships. Here are some ways to use your standardized test scores to make college more affordable.

How test scores affect financial aid

Beyond being able to apply for more scholarships with your test scores, you may also automatically receive more financial aid from colleges. High SAT or ACT scores can directly lead to financial aid offices offering you more money that doesn’t need to be paid back, including institutional scholarships and grants, in your financial aid package. Along with your class rank, GPA, and extracurricular involvement, standardized test scores can be one of the biggest factors in being awarded merit-based scholarships from colleges. Certain schools will also give out guaranteed scholarships to students who hit a minimum SAT or ACT score, though some may have a minimum class rank or GPA threshold as well.

Related: The Most Important Questions to Ask About Merit Aid

Where to find other standardized test–based scholarships

Depending on if you took or are planning to take the SAT or ACT, there are a variety of ways to find scholarships that are awarded based on standardized test scores. Here are a couple of helpful resources.

Scholarships.com

Scholarships.com is a great website that can be used for finding scholarships for both SAT and ACT scores. In the search tool, simply pick what score range you are in and a variety of scholarships will be presented. What’s great about this tool is that it features scholarships for almost every potential score, so almost everyone can benefit from it. One drawback of these award opportunities is that certain scholarships may require more than just a standardized test score, such as being a resident of a certain area or attending a specific university, so be sure to review the eligibility requirements before applying. 

College Transitions

College Transitions is another useful site to find both SAT and ACT score-based scholarships. This resource is especially helpful as it efficiently lays out the requirements of eligibility to apply to each scholarship. Certain scholarships on this website will only take either an SAT or ACT score, so if you’re below the score threshold for a specific scholarship, consider retaking the exam or trying the other test if you have time to increase your eligibility for more scholarships. 

Related: 3 Easy Strategies to Increase Your Scholarship Eligibility

How to improve your scores to win scholarships

After a brief exploration into either of the above resources, you’ll quickly realize that the higher your standardized test scores are, the more scholarships you will be eligible for. You should take every opportunity to increase your chances of getting admitted into specific colleges and receive the most potential scholarship money. Here are a couple tips to improve your scores while you have time.

Take a lot of practice tests

Many students take the SAT or ACT multiple times, which is a good strategy to maximize your scores in hopes you can get over some of those eligibility thresholds. The easiest way to improve your scores is to take practice tests frequently. To effectively use this strategy, you must take a practice test, mark every question you got wrong or guessed on in every section, and focus your studying on the topics where you lost the most points. 

Take both the SAT and ACT

Although most students focus on just one standardized test to place in the highest percentage of students, you could consider taking both the SAT and ACT. There’s a lot of crossover in the content, so there’s a good chance you could do well on both. However, I would advise you to really focus your studying on the test you’re best equipped to do well on, since taking both exams requires more time and money. But if you are willing and able to take both tests, you may score higher on one over the other and be eligible for more test-based scholarships. 

Related: Essential Tips and Strategies for Taking the SAT and ACT

Although the SAT and ACT may not seem as important as before the pandemic with many colleges going test-optional, succeeding on these exams is still key to boosting your high school résumé and receiving more financial aid and scholarships. You should continue to focus on improving your scores for the chance to receive the highest amount of college funding possible.

CollegeXpress is also a great resource to find awards for high test scores! Start looking now with our Scholarship Search tool.

Like what you’re reading?

Join the CollegeXpress community! Create a free account and we’ll notify you about new articles, scholarship deadlines, and more.

Join Now

Tags:

About Justin Mathew

Justin Mathew is an academically successful student at Shadow Creek High School in Texas. As a high-achiever and avid chess player with a Class B rating, Justin is president of both the Mu Alpha Theta and Chess Club chapters at his school. He also enjoys basketball, NFL statistics, and playing the piano. At the age of seven, he was featured as a kid inventor and presented the No Sweat-SweatShirt on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. After high school, Justin plans to pursue a career in the mathematics field.

 

Join our community of
over 5 million students!

CollegeXpress has everything you need to simplify your college search, get connected to schools, and find your perfect fit.

Join CollegeXpress

College Quick Connect

Swipe right to request information.
Swipe left if you're not interested.

University of Idaho

Moscow, ID


Makiyah Murray

Makiyah Murray

High School Class of 2021

The college application process has been a stressful one, but CollegeXpress has eased some of that stress with its readily available college resources. At the beginning of the process, I frequently used the college search feature, and now that I’m almost done applying, I’ve started using the scholarship search. Both of these resources have made it easier to find relevant information.

Rhiannon Teeter

Rhiannon Teeter

$2,000 Community Service Scholarship Winner, 2012

I have spent a lot of time aggressively searching for scholarships. It was a long and frustrating process until I found the CollegeXpress network. This site made my search so much easier. With the simple check of a few boxes, the site sorted out scholarships I was eligible for and led me directly to the correct websites. Winning this scholarship has definitely given me and my family some financial relief, and CollegeXpress has allowed me to improve my chances of winning further financial aid. Thank you so much!

Wendy Thompson

Wendy Thompson

Owner, Westport Educational Consulting

I just discovered your site and LOVE it—fun, interesting, full of incredible information you can’t find anywhere else, and a godsend for those of us in the college counseling business. I am a fan!

Samantha Fils-Aime

Samantha Fils-Aime

High School Class of 2019

I love that CollegeXpress has helped me find some scholarships to apply for but also helped me succeed in school with lots of tips. I also really like how they consistently email me about webinars that teach me a lot of things from the comfort of my home!

Katie

Katie

High School Class of 2019

My favorite feature of CollegeXpress is the scholarship search. As someone going out of state for college, I needed all the financial help I could get, and CollegeXpress helped me easily find scholarships I could apply for to help fund my education.